Gone With the Nerd

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  "Here's what I'm thinking. Luanne will be here in about forty-five minutes. That's a decent amount of time to have a round of bad sex."

  Her eyes opened wide. Forty-five minutes? Slowly she turned to look at him. He'd just elevated himself to a whole new level of respect. From her limited experience, forty-five minutes was a long time. "Um, Flynn?"

  "Yeah?" He glanced sideways at her.

  "Is that an average time for you?"

  "Oh, it's less time than I'd like, but—"

  "Oh." She might combust on the spot.

  "Not long enough?"

  "I'm sure it's ... long enough." She grew wet in all the right places.

  His gaze scorched a path to hers. "Then maybe we should go inside."

  This was it. She hung suspended between what was right and what was more tempting than she could stand.

  His cell phone rang.

  Zoe should have expected it. Her weekend had been going like this. She knew who was on the other end—the person who had enjoyed forty-five minutes in heaven with Flynn Granger. Kristen had impeccable timing.

  Flynn grimaced. "Probably Kristen."

  "You need to pick up. Otherwise she'll wonder why you didn't. She'll get suspicious."

  "Right." Flynn unclipped his phone from his belt and answered it.

  Zoe decided not to stay there and listen in on the conversation, which would probably end any chance of forty-five minutes with Flynn anyway. He wasn't the kind of guy who could talk to his girlfriend one minute and jump into the sack with another woman the next.

  Therefore, she needed to shift down, stop revving her engine, and gently lower her rims. Be a good girl after all. She stood and walked into the cabin, leaving the front door open. Fortunately, the gas smell was gone.

  Maybe she'd brushed against the oven knob and accidentally turned on the gas last night. But that didn't make much sense. If the gas had been on all night, they would have smelled it this morning.

  She walked into the kitchen, drawn to the stove that could have disfigured her if the gas had exploded. She hadn't been near the stove since cooking that assault on the digestive system they'd called dinner. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced she hadn't accidentally turned that oven knob.

  Flynn might have, though. He might have bumped it. But what if he hadn't? That meant that someone had come into the cabin and turned it on while she and Flynn were in town eating breakfast.

  The bees could have been a prank, something that wouldn't have been dangerous except for her tendency to swell up like a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But leaving gas on when someone might strike a match was heavy-duty stuff. Someone with more than pranks in mind might be after her.

  She blew out a breath. Or not. Margo had been a drama queen in high school and would probably love to believe in some kind of plot against Zoe. The poor woman had nothing going on in her life other than Bigfoot sightings.

  Flynn's footsteps sounded on the pine boards of the living room. "Zoe?"

  "In here, trying to figure out why the gas ended up being turned on." And making sure I'm turned all the way off.

  He appeared in the kitchen doorway, bis expression worried. "I don't know why it was on, either. I admit it's suspicious." He blew out a breath and shook his head. "Damn, all of this is crazy. The bees, the gas, Kristen...."

  "What did she say?"

  "She asked me whether I was attracted to you." Guilt settled in Zoe's stomach. "What did you say?" "I couldn't lie to her."

  "Why the hell not? Okay, scratch that. I understand. So what did she say after you confessed to a teensy bit of lust?" She peered at him. "You did minimize the lust factor, right?"

  "Sort of."

  "Oh, Flynn. Tell me you didn't describe the moment on top of the Sasquatch footprint."

  "No. I wouldn't do that. But she... seemed to get the picture."

  Zoe took a deep breath. "And?"

  "She reminded me that you were a movie star, and that I shouldn't do anything foolish. She's afraid I'll get hurt"

  Hell and damnation. Zoe felt lower than whale poop. Had she considered whether Flynn would get hurt? No, she had not. She'd only been worried about the Kristen situation.

  Well, she would mend her ways. "Then I'm glad she called, because she's right. Having sex would have been dumb."

  "Maybe." But his gaze hadn't cooled all that much.

  "No maybes about it. You have a good thing going with a woman who cares about your welfare. Sadly, it looks as if I was fixated on your body."

  He smiled. "Nice to hear."

  "The point is, I don't want you to get hurt, either, but I didn't exactly make that a top priority."

  "Possibly because you give me credit for being able to take care of myself," he said quietly. "Kristen doesn't."

  "Can you blame her? She's frantic with worry that I'll come between you two, so she uses the first thing she can think of to stop that from happening. She warns you that I'm a movie star and movie stars break hearts."

  Flynn regarded her steadily. "Do they?"

  "All the time! Don't you read the tabloids?"

  "You can't break someone's heart unless he hands it over."

  "What were you, the captain of the high school debate team?"

  "Yep." He glanced at his watch. "But it's a moot point whether we have sex or not, because Luanne will be here soon. We might as well work on the script until she gets here."

  "All right, but I want you to know that even if we weren't expecting Luanne to show up, we wouldn't be having sex."

  The light in his eyes grew brighter and his chin came up. "Is that right?"

  Uh-oh. She might have just challenged his masculine ego. "Flynn, be sensible. It's a bad idea. You're on track for the kind of life you want. Having sex with me would only confuse the issue."

  "Only if I allow it to."

  "You think you have that kind of mental discipline?"

  "You think you have that kind of sexual power?"

  Well, the movie magazines implied she did. She'd never really believed it, though.

  He laughed. "You do think that, and for good reason. You have thousands of men at your feet worshipping you as a goddess." He gazed at her. "I might be a fool, but I think I can handle that."

  She blinked in surprise. Could he deal with her stardom? If so, that made him a man among men. She'd watched the dynamics of other Hollywood couples. Usually the less-famous one was either intimidated or jealous.

  Trace was definitely in the jealous camp, which was one of the reasons she wasn't attracted to him. If Flynn could handle her public image and not be bothered, then

  he might be uh-oh .. .the one.

  Oh my. That changed the game considerably. But she didn't have any idea if it was true. She didn't know what he could and couldn't handle because they weren't involved with each other yet. Talk was cheap. And yet she didn't think Flynn made idle comments.

  "Let's look at the script." Flynn turned and started back through the riving room. "We'll deal with this after Luanne leaves."

  Zoe gulped. She'd thought all she'd have to do was be strong and Flynn would back down and agree with her. But the captain of the debate team sounded as if he already had his next move all planned out.

  Flynn was still thinking about Kristen's phone call as he returned to the porch and settled carefully onto a rocking chair. Something was going on with her, and he wasn't sure what. He'd asked if she'd switched hotels, and she'd admitted to checking out of the Sheraton, but then she'd changed the subject without telling him why she'd done that or where she was staying now.

  Besides acting territorial, she was also being evasive. Margo's suspicions were unfounded, and yet he'd feel better if he knew for sure that Kristen was in a hotel somewhere in Chicago or that she'd gone back to Massachusetts. He'd never given her a reason to be jealous before, so he had no idea how she might react in this situation.

  She wouldn't plot sabotage, but he couldn't swear she wouldn't s
uddenly appear in Long Shaft to confront him if she thought something might be happening. What a mess. He only had one option for corning out of this the good guy. He had to keep his hands off Zoe. And he didn't want to.

  As Zoe sat down, he picked up the script. This damned script wasn't helping. As near as he could tell, Tony and Vera were about to do the deed.

  Zoe leaned over to read her next line. "I'm sure I would be a disappointment to you, Tony."

  "Too sexy," Flynn said.

  Zoe glanced up. "What do you mean?"

  He nearly got lost admiring the beauty of her blue eyes. The wire-framed glasses drew his attention to them even more.

  He cleared his throat and forced himself to focus. "You said the line as if you didn't expect to be a disappointment at all. Your voice was sort of low and throaty, like a come-on. Vera would say it crisply, matter-of-factly. She doesn't play games."

  Zoe nodded, which made her glasses slip. She pushed them back in place. "Good. Thanks. Let me try it again." She sat up straighter and narrowed her lips into a prim line. "I'm sure I would be a disappointment to you, Tony." She broke into a grin. "How's that?"

  "Better." There would be no disappointments with Zoe. He couldn't explain how he knew that, but he did. He gave his attention back to the script.

  TONY

  You're probably right. It's a crazy idea anyway, you and me. We'd drive each other nuts.

  VERA

  We'd last about five minutes.

  TONY

  Speak for yourself, doll-face. I can last a lot longer than that.

  Zoe giggled.

  "What?" Flynn glanced up.

  "Just thinking how appropriate the line was, considering our last discussion, and how lame you made it sound. Say it with more authority."

  What the hell. He'd give the line swagger. He looked into those incredible blue eyes. "Speak for yourself, dollr face. I can last a lot longer than that."

  "Whew." Zoe fanned herself. "That was good. Vera would be toast."

  "No, she wouldn't." The urge to lean closer and kiss her was almost more than he could stand. "Vera wouldn't crack. Not yet."

  Her expression grew dreamy. "Right. Because she thinks he wants to seduce her so he can steal the formula himself."

  "Uh-huh." Maybe just one little kiss wouldn't hurt. Their glasses would get in the way, so that would keep them from getting into full lip-lock mode. But he wanted a little taste.

  Zoe's voice softened. "But she finally does crack."

  "Yeah." He couldn't stop looking at her mouth. Her lips were the perfect shape for kissing, and right now they were parted about a sixteenth of an inch, which was so damned sexy he forgot to breathe.

  "Because she can't help herself."

  "That happens." He drifted closer.

  "Tell me about it."

  A horn tooted in the driveway and they backed away from each other so fast they almost tipped both rocking chairs. Flynn looked up and was not pleased to see Margo's neon car sitting next to the rental sedan. Margo herself climbed out a second later.

  "Hi there!" She pranced up to the porch in the UGG boots that seemed to be her favorite footwear. "I got some interesting news and I had a break at the diner, so I thought I'd come out and deliver it in person."

  Flynn's jaw clenched. This was the person who'd planted the idea that Kristen was stalking them. He stood, because he'd been taught to be polite, but he didn't feel polite.

  "What's up?" Zoe stood, too.

  At the bottom of the porch steps Margo paused and glanced at Flynn. "Did you tell him that Kristen wasn't registered at the Sheraton anymore?"

  "Yes, she told me," Flynn said, not bothering to disguise his irritation. "I don't appreciate what you're trying to do, Margo."

  "She's only trying to help," Zoe said.

  "She's casting suspicion on an innocent person." Flynn kept his attention on Margo, who seemed unaffected by his anger. "And Kristen isn't the type to—"

  "I'm afraid that's not true," Margo said easily, not a single feather ruffled. "The rental agency called to say that someone had asked about renting this cabin and wanted to know exactly where it was located here in Long Shaft. Nobody ever calls about this cabin."

  "So the Bigfoot campaign is finally working," Flynn said.

  Margo shook her head. 'Too much of a coincidence. I'd told the agency to let me know if anyone asked about the cabin because I wanted to make sure no reporters were nosing around."

  "It probably was a reporter," Flynn said.

  Margo smiled as if exceedingly proud of herself. "Not unless she has the same name as your girlfriend."

  Flynn went very still. Apparently he didn't know Kristen as well as he'd thought. And it appeared as if she might be headed his way.

  "So did the rental agent give information about the location of the cabin?" Zoe asked.

  "No, he didn't, because I'd told him to be on the lookout for people wanting that information and not to give it out during this weekend."

  "Thank you." Zoe turned to Flynn. "I wonder if this is worth it, after all. I could charter a plane and have us back in LA by dinnertime."

  The possibility made Flynn realize how much he'd been counting on one more night with Zoe. But ultimately, that decision was hers. "It's up to you."

  "Leaving like that would blow your cover," Margo said. "I thought you didn't want anyone to know you'd gone away to learn how to be a nerd."

  "They wouldn't have to know that," Zoe said. "But you make a good point. Flynn and I would have to go back separately." She sighed. "And I don't feel ready for that audition. I need more time."

  Margo gazed up at Zoe. "It was such a neat plan you had. I hate to see it go down the tubes because of a freaked-out girlfriend."

  Flynn decided he'd had enough. "Listen, Kristen is not a threat. Even if she were to come to Long Shaft, which I doubt, she'd be coming to talk to me and find out what the story is regarding Zoe." He reached for his cell phone. "I'm going to call her right now and make sure she doesn't do that."

  Zoe put a restraining hand on his arm. "Wait a minute. What are you going to say?"

  "I'll tell her I've agreed to help you with this audition and I want to honor that commitment. Then I'll ask her to put any concerns she has on hold until tomorrow night, when we can talk."

  Both Margo and Zoe laughed.

  "What's wrong with that?"

  Margo rocked back on her heels. "If I got a call like that, I'd be out here on the next plane, ready to shove that nice, logical statement down your throat."

  "I have to agree with her." Zoe gave him a sympathetic smile. "No woman wants to be put on hold, especially when her emotions are involved."

  "Look, maybe she won't come out here," Margo said. "I felt like I had to tell you both that she'd called, but she didn't get any information about how to find the cabin."

  "I really can't picture her coming here, either," Flynn said.

  "Still, if there's a chance she might..." Zoe paused and gazed at Flynn. "It's complicated either way."

  "I know." He shouldn't have told Kristen about this weekend. He could see that now, but at the time he'd felt honor-bound to do it.

  Margo snapped her fingers. "I have a great idea. I can put the word out that Kristen is Flynn's extremely jealous ex-wife. I'll tell everyone to alert me if she shows up. She probably won't, but in case she does, she'd have to stay at the motel and eat at the diner. It's a small town. She'd be seen."

  Flynn hated the idea of putting out the equivalent of an APB on Kristen. The concept was ludicrous when applied to a conservative, polished professional like her. But he couldn't guarantee she wouldn't show up without warning. She was already acting erratically.

  He also didn't want a nasty scene between Kristen and Zoe. He hoped to protect both women from going through that. Although a part of him stood aside watching in total amazement that he, Flynn Granger, was becoming part of a triangle, he couldn't ignore the potential for disaster. And he would never come to Long Sha
ft again, so whatever tale Margo spun wouldn't matter.

  "Okay," he said. "I guess we could consider that."

  "Do you have a picture I can show around?"

  No, he didn't, thank God. Handing Margo a picture to circulate would be carrying this charade too far. He shook his head. "Sorry."

  "Then can you describe her for me? I'll need to tell people something."

  "Short brown hair, five-six, a hundred and twenty-five pounds."

  Margo nodded. "Okay. What else?"

  Frantically he tried to picture Kristen, but images of Zoe kept superimposing themselves over Kristen's face. "She has all her teeth."

  "What?" Margo stared at him.

  It was the only detail he could think of, but both women were looking at him as if he'd lost it. "I mean, she hasn't had any teeth pulled because of braces or anything." He thought of another detail. "She's right-handed."

  Margo snorted. "Now there's a defining quality. How about her eyes?"

  "Twenty-thirty and twenty-forty. Corrected with contacts."

  Zoe groaned. "I think Margo wants to know what color they are."

  "That would help," Margo said. "The teeth and the right-handed thing won't make her any easier to spot. Plus I doubt anybody in Long Shaft has an eye chart handy."

  For one panicky minute Flynn couldn't remember what color eyes Kristen had. All he could see was Zoe's eyes—blue as the Pacific when she was laughing, dark and stormy when she was aroused—but Margo was waiting, so he had to say something. "They're sort of brownish," he said. "I think."

  Then he checked to see how that had gone over with Margo and Zoe. Not well. Their disapproving expressions told him clearly that a man should know the color of his almost-fiancée’s eyes.

  That was the moment when he faced the sorry truth. He'd been asked to describe a woman he'd considered proposing to. All he'd come up with was a bunch of statistics that would fit very well on a life insurance application. A guy in love should be able to do better than that. A hell of a lot better.

  A guy in love would have a picture in his wallet, for God's sake. He'd never even thought to ask for one. Kristen hadn't asked for one of him, either, and maybe she should have.

  For now, he could only speak for himself, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'd been kidding himself about Kristen. Much as he wanted to believe otherwise, he wasn't even remotely in love with her.